Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
With the remake hitting the theaters later this month, it's surely a good time to look at the original that first stirred up all the fuss. To be frank, it wasn't just the racy subject matter that grabbed everyones attention in Stanley Kramer's 1967 original, it was also the promise of Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn magic ...and newcomer, Sidney Poitier of course.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Although it started as a radio play on the BBC, it was in fact the original television miniseries that turned this Douglas Adams curiosity into a cultural phenomenum. One can't appreciate the absolute lunacy of THGTTG without being intimately familiar with that original BBC TV Production.

Coming Soon

Groundhog Day The collaboration between Bill Murray and Ivan Reitman has provided many classic comedies of the 20th Century. From Stripes, to the Ghostbusters, to what many consider, their best collaboration of all. While there's a dearth of original good comedies around, let's go back and revel in Groundhog Day.

Note: Due to a variety of reasons Screen Gems went into hiatus from May 2005. It will reappear as a Monthly program from the beginning of November 2005.
In the meantime Renny will be regularly updating his blog from September 2005.
Please rejoin the action.

Screen Gems is all about highlighting the brilliance of narrative film and television - drama or comedy, tragedy or musical. It will not present ‘reviews’ as such, but will present ‘appreciations’ of the 20th Century’s most distinctive and influential collaborative art form – whether that Art was produced for a 72 foot ‘silver screen’ at the Bijou, or a 12 inch black and white Philco.

The heart of each installment will be; one Feature Film; or one episode of a TV series (or mini series); or in fact a complete series; or a ‘collection’ of works belonging to a common theme whether that theme is related to a particular filmmalker, genre or period.

The aim of the program is to spread Manne’s infectious contagion as far and as wide as possible, create a viral epidemic of appreciation … to make sure that the audience will want to see these programs again and again, with each screening opening up a new wonderous layer of complexity, excitement, exhilleration …

Hi, I’m Renny Manne and I ‘m delighted to have this opportunity to produce and present Screen Gems.

All I want is to incite your imagination, seed your curiosity and stoke your enjoyment of all things related to Film and TV.

Why am I doing this? It’s hard to put into words the magic I feel of being transported into an alternate universe.

One specifically created to make you think and feel. Sure, along the journey, you should laugh, cry, squirm and drool, but one should always walk away from a good narrative having felt that their life is richer.